Skills and Drills: Miami Dolphins pin and pull drill - offensive line
By Frank Bartscheck | Posted 10/13/2016
Reports of his decline are greatly exaggerated, as Mark Twain might say.
In 2013, Lesean McCoy enjoyed his best statistical season, which was also his second-to-last with the Philadelphia Eagles. He compiled 1,607 rushing yards and 539 yards receiving. Prior to this weekend, many pointed to his statistical decline since as father time catching up with McCoy.
The whispers of diminishing production ultimately stand to reason.
Running backs in the NFL do not enjoy longevity. Since 2001, the overwhelming majority of running backs who have played at least four seasons and had a minimum of 75 carries peak at 27. McCoy is currently 28 years old.
The statistics are hard to refute.
Only days removed from a trade that sent McCoy from his hometown Eagles to Buffalo in 2015, the Bills rewarded the running back a five-year $40.05 million contract, which included $18.25 million in guaranteed money. Many pundits criticized the deal in light of the fact that McCoy was only months away from his birthday and would enter the season as a 27 year old.
This past weekend, the Buffalo Bills traveled to the West Coast to play the newly re-minted Los Angeles Rams and ‘Shady’ ran wild almost every time he touched the ball. It looked like “Groundhog Day” all over again for the 28 year old in Tinsletown. McCoy reminded the NFL what a dangerous offensive weapon he is, which will provide plenty of headaches for opposing defensive coordinators in the weeks to come.
The eighth-year running back had his best statistical game of the season by running for 150 yards on just 18 carries and chipping in two receptions for eight yards.
At 28 years old, he is on pace to accumulate 1,734 all-purpose yards, which would represent his second best statistical season in the league.
Even though he missed four games last year due to injury, the running back still enjoyed seven straight games of 100 all-purpose yards from scrimmage [Week 6 through Week 13]. By the end of the season he accumulated over 1,100 all-purpose yards.
The number is surprising similar to his output in 2012. At the age of 24, McCoy accumulated 1,212 all-purpose yards while playing in 12 games. Compare that to last season’s 27-year-old model and two seasons are almost identical, except the age of the player.
McCoy is flying in the face of statistics and running all over the field in the process. At the L.A. Coliseum this past weekend he looked explosive, elusive and ran with determination. His biggest play of the game, a 53-yard run that was eventually cashed in by the Bills for a touchdown, came early in the second quarter.
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#OnlyInTheNFL The second half of the video shows the end zone view, which provides a great opportunity to understand how this play develops. After the ball is snapped, the Bills right guard John Miller [No. 76] pulls to the opposite side of the line.
Buffalo’s left tackle, Cordy Glenn [No. 77], down blocks and seals Aaron Donald [No. 99], who was aligned directly over the guard prior to the snap. Miller pulls around Glenn’s backside to engage Rams defensive end Matt Longacre [No. 96].
What results is a huge hole that McCoy flies through on his way to the end zone.
These types of plays allow offenses to attack the edge of a defense, and McCoy is something special when he gets loose outside of the numbers.
Here is a modified version of a similar play involving McCoy from a Sunday Night Football game between the Giants and Eagles in 2010.
The only difference is the Eagles tackle, Jason Peters [No. 71], pulls rather than the guard. It is the Eagles' tight end Brent Celek [No. 87] on the end of the line [to the outside shoulder of the pulling tackle] who is responsible for blocking down and sealing the edge.
The results of both plays are almost identical.
The purpose of this drill is to teach offensive linemen to pull and pin defenders during a designed run play.
Drill Setup
Place an offensive guard and tackle in normal running-play alignment.
Place a defensive linemen with a blocking shield in a three-technique alignment directly over the guard.
Place a second defender, also with a blocking shield, a few yards directly behind the defensive linemen to mimic a linebacker who is tracking from the inside out.
On the coach’s whistle, the offensive tackle will down block the three-technique defensive linemen to seal him. This represents the ‘pin’ portion of this drill. As the tackle engages the linemen he should concentrate on ensuring his outside hand is very heavy to effectively seal and keep the defender from turning and pursuing the ball to the outside.
At the same time, on the coach’s whistle, the offensive guard will utilize a bucket-step and pull mechanics to loop around the backside of the tackle. During the guard’s pull, he should quickly identify the downfield threat and concentrate on rapidly moving to intercept and engage the linebacker.
Whenever big bodied linemen are moving in space, it is important they adhere to proper mechanics, specifically good pad level, bent knees, flat back, and head and eyes up to identify the threat. When the pulling guard closes in on the linebacker, it is important that he controls his footwork so he does not get avoided or slipped by the defender.
As he closes in on the linebacker, on his final step, he aggressively shoots his hands to make contact with the center of the linebacker’s chest and then look to continue driving him back.
Photo courtesy of MiamiDolphins.com